The effect of online reviews on restaurant visit intentions: applying signaling and involvement theories

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Aureliano-Silva ◽  
Xi Leung ◽  
Eduardo Eugênio Spers
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Signaling Theory ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Online Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Involvement ◽  
Online Ratings ◽  
Involvement Theory ◽  
Restaurant Reviews

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of online reviews on consumers’ intention to visit restaurants, with the moderating role of involvement. Design/methodology/approach The research framework was built on signaling theory, message appeals and involvement theory. To test the proposed framework, three experiments were conducted online with real customer samples. T-tests, ANOVA and SPSS PROCESS macro were used for data analysis. Findings The results revealed that online reviews with higher online ratings and emotional appeal led to higher restaurant visit intention. Review appeal significantly moderated the effect of online ratings on restaurant visit intention. Customers with low restaurant involvement were more impacted by emotional comments than by functional comments. Research limitations/implications The present study extends our knowledge on the effects of online reviews moderated by levels of customer involvement. By combining signaling theory with involvement theory, it adds value to the literature on customer online behavior, especially in the foodservice context. The present study has limitations that might provide opportunities for future research. It used evaluations (TripAdvisor scores) and only positive reviews (texts), so customers’ intentions considering negative reviews could not be examined. The level of hedonism concerning consumption in restaurants and prior knowledge regarding restaurant reviews was not controlled for. It is possible that the level of hedonism perceived and prior review knowledge may moderate the customers’ intention to visit the restaurant. Practical implications The present study shows the importance of online comments for the promotion of restaurants that have low evaluation scores. It is essential that restaurant owners and managers encourage potential customers by using comments to elaborate on their marketing strategies and promotion. At the same time, they should invite customers to share their emotional experiences, and not just their views on service efficiency (a functional aspect). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of the internet and mobile devices has become more prominent. Managers could therefore use emotional messages on the restaurant’s website or apps to attract customers with low restaurant involvement. Also, a system to identify the involvement of customers with restaurants could be implemented online or on mobile devices to present specific messages. The present study also recommends the use of online tools as virtual tours, photographs taken from different angles, smiling faces, floor plans and sittings and pre-determined emotional expressions. Also, the restaurant could promote lives on cooking different dishes to motive customer’s interaction and comments. These would help to increase customers’ visit intentions. Originality/value This study extends knowledge about the effect of restaurant online reviews (both ratings and appeals) moderated by the level of customer involvement. The present study also adds value to the customer online behavior literature showing that customers with low involvement are more sensitive to emotional content as they use the affective route to process information rather than the central route.

scholarly journals Exploring the behavioral drivers of review valence

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 3083-3099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Stamolampros ◽  
Nikolaos Korfiatis
Keyword(s):  
Information Content ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
The Other ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Spatial Distance ◽  
Bag Of Words ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Ratings ◽  
Positive Direct

Purpose Although the literature has established the effect of online reviews on customer purchase intentions, the influence of psychological factors on online ratings is overlooked. This paper aims to examine these factors under the perspective of construal level theory (CLT). Design/methodology/approach Using review data from TripAdvisor and Booking.com, the authors study three dimensions of psychological distances (temporal, spatial and social) and their direct and interaction effects on review valence, using regression analysis. The authors examine the effect of these distances on the information content of online reviews using a novel bag-of-words model to assess its concreteness. Findings Temporal distance and spatial distance have positive direct effects on review valence. Social distance, on the other hand, has a negative direct effect. However, its interaction with the other two distances has a positive effect, suggesting that consumers tend to “zoom-out” to less concrete things in their ratings. Practical implications The findings provide implications for the interpretation of review ratings by the service providers and their information content. Originality/value This study extends the CLT and electronic word-of-mouth literature by jointly exploring the effect of all three psychological distances that are applicable in post-purchase evaluations. Methodologically, it provides a novel application of the bag-of-words model in evaluating the concreteness of online reviews.

Reputation management in cyberspace: evidence from Jordan’s luxury hotel market

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaid Alrawadieh ◽  
Mithat Zeki Dincer
Keyword(s):  
Response Rate ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Reputation Management ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Luxury Hotels ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
Online Reputation ◽  
Luxury Hotel ◽  
Managerial Response

PurposeDrawing on a sample of 520 negative reviews posted on TripAdvisor against all five-star hotels operating in Petra, Jordan, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the response of luxury hotels to negative online reviews by considering the Response Rate (RR), the Response Time (RT) and the Response Content (RC).Design/methodology/approachA deductive content analysis was used on hotels’ managerial responses. Based on the literature review, a four-construct scheme was identified to guide the analysis including Appreciation; Apology; Explanation; and Incentive. The managerial responses were carefully read and manually coded based on the four-construct scheme. The time between the review posting date and the date of the managerial response was also recorded. Luxury hotel managers were also surveyed to obtain insights into their perceptions and practices with respect to online reputation management.FindingsThe findings call into question luxury hotels’ awareness of the harmful impact of negative online reviews. Specifically, the findings suggest that less than half of the negative reviews received a managerial response, and that more than half of these were standardized and did not refer to the issues raised in the reviews. The low response rate coupled with the hotel managers’ consensus on the importance of answering all online reviews indicates inconsistency between hotel managers’ perceptions and practices with regard to online reputation management.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the ongoing debate on reputation management in the hospitality industry by considering the managerial response to negative online reviews. The paper discusses several managerial implications for hotel managers as well as avenues for future research.

Expert cues: how expert reviewers are perceived online

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 531-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Naujoks ◽  
Martin Benkenstein
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
The Other ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Review Author ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Source Expertise ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore different types of source expertise and how they influence perceived message quality. Consumers face the challenge to identify valuable online reviews. Source expertise as a signal of message quality can be displayed differently, depending on website layout, operator and review author.Design/methodology/approachTwo scenario-based experiments were conducted questioning 135 and 275 participants. They investigate the effect of different types of expert reviewers on perceived message quality and also examine the interplay of source expertise and source trustworthiness.FindingsThe findings reveal that the different types of expert reviewers differ in perceived expertise and their impact on perceived message quality. Claims of expertise induce the highest perceived expertise compared to the other expert types and non-experts, but are perceived as less trustworthy.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should examine the influence of the expert types across different product and service categories and could also include moderating influences that reflect how consumers process expert cues differently.Practical implicationsCues that signal high expertise and high trustworthiness are likely to deliver the most valuable online reviews. This should be incorporated in the website's layout to help consumers find valuable information.Originality/valueThe approach of this research is novel in that it undertakes comparisons between three types of expert cues and non-experts. It also addresses the interplay of source expertise and trustworthiness and examines the effect on message quality.

scholarly journals Mobile devices compatibility testing strategy via crowdsourcing

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qamar Naith ◽  
Fabio Ciravegna
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Application Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Teams ◽  
The Common ◽  
High Level ◽  
Level Of Experience ◽  
Different Levels

Purpose This paper aims to support small mobile application development teams or companies performing testing on a large variety of operating systems versions and mobile devices to ensure their seamless working. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a “hybrid crowdsourcing” method that leverages the power of public crowd testers. This leads to generating a novel crowdtesting workflow Developer/Tester- Crowdtesting (DT-CT) that focuses on developers and crowd testers as key elements in the testing process without the need for intermediate as managers or leaders. This workflow has been used in a novel crowdtesting platform (AskCrowd2Test). This platform enables testing the compatibility of mobile devices and applications at two different levels, high-level (device characteristics) or low-level (code). Additionally, a “crowd-powered knowledge base” has been developed that stores testing results, relevant issues and their solutions. Findings The comparison of the presented DT-CT workflow with the common and most recent crowdtesting workflows showed that DT-CT may positively impact the testing process by reducing time-consuming and budget spend because of the direct interaction of developers and crowd testers. Originality/value To authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to propose crowdtesting workflow based on developers and public crowd testers without crowd managers or leaders, which light the beacon for the future research in this field. Additionally, this work is the first that authorizes crowd testers with a limited level of experience to participate in the testing process, which helps in studying the behaviors and interaction of end-users with apps and obtains more concrete results.

Halal versus Hipster: the struggle for Sydney road and the culture of complaint

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1485-1496
Author(s):  
Michael Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Municipality ◽  
Interesting Approach ◽  
Halal Food ◽  
Restaurant Reviews ◽  
Analytical Tools

Purpose Sydney road in Melbourne is a multicultural experiment where Hipster youth culture contests the street space with a variety of immigrants from the Middle East and Indian subcontinent who consumer Halal food. This paper explores the relationship between these through an examination of their respective cuisines and negative online restaurant reviews. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of conflict as it expresses itself in this way and to consider the wider political context in passing. Design/methodology/approach Google online restaurant reviews for all food outlets in the area were tabulated and then the percentage of negative reviews was calculated. Restaurants were split into categories by area and by ethnicity. The results were then discussed with reference to other research in this area. Findings Hipster, Middle Eastern Halal and pubs enjoyed the lowest levels of negative online reviews. Indian, Pakistani and chain restaurants had the highest levels of negative online reviews. This could be due to many undetermined causes. Research limitations/implications More powerful analytical tools were not used. Also, the text of the reviews was not examined or discussed. Practical implications Restaurants who attract larger percentages of negative reviews should try to improve their service offerings. This can be achieved by the standardisation of market offering. Social implications The local municipality, which is Moreland council should consider focussing on promoting and expanding this precinct and encouraging the emergence of several zones so that Islamic tourism and way of life can be facilitated. Originality/value This is a simple and interesting approach, which encapsulates the paradoxes and dynamics of the Australian attitude to multiculturalism by focusing on a single aspect of customer response in a consumption setting. As such it is an antidote to excessive theorising and empiricism. Readers will enjoy this study and may use the approach to guide their own choice of dining venues.

To follow others or be yourself? Social influence in online restaurant reviews

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 1067-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hengyun Li ◽  
Fang Meng ◽  
Miyoung Jeong ◽  
Zili Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Influence ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Service ◽  
The Social ◽  
Restaurant Reviews ◽  
Influence Process ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Online reviews are often likely to be socially influenced by prior reviews. This study aims to examine key review and reviewer characteristics which may influence the social influence process. Design/methodology/approach Restaurant review data from Yelp.com are analyzed using an ordered logit model and text mining approach. Findings This study reveals that prior average review rating exerts a positive influence on subsequent review ratings for the same restaurant, but the effect is attenuated by the variance in existing review ratings. Moreover, social influence is stronger for consumers who had a moderate dining experience or invested less cognitive effort in writing online reviews. Compared to reviewers classified by Yelp as “elite,” non-elite reviewers appear more susceptible to the social influence of prior average review rating. Practical implications This study provides guidelines for mitigating the social influence of prior reviews and improving the accuracy of online product/service ratings, which will eventually enhance business and the reputation of online review platforms. Originality/value The findings from this study contribute to the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) literature and social influence literature in terms of the bidirectional nature of social influence on eWOM.

Unveiling the effects of figurative meanings in manipulated online hotel reviews on consumers' behavioral intentions

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1799-1821
Author(s):  
Naeem Akhtar ◽  
Muhammad Nadeem Akhtar ◽  
Umar Iqbal Siddiqi ◽  
Muhammad Riaz ◽  
Weiqing Zhuang
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Word Choice ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Online Ratings ◽  
Managerial Implications

PurposeThe present study develops a conceptual model that shows how the manipulation attributes of word choice, sentence fluency, convention of meaning, and organization of sentence structure in online hotel reviews are connected to linguistic errors, such as spelling and grammar and argument errors, how such errors intensify the likelihood that messages will be misunderstood, and how these misunderstandings affect customers' responses.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was employed to collect data from 591 inbound tourists in Beijing, China. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 25.0 and Amos Graphics 23.0. Descriptive analysis was performed to explain the sociodemographic characteristic of respondents. Structural equation modeling was performed to examine hypothesized relationships.FindingsResults demonstrate that manipulation attributes increase linguistic errors, and two linguistic errors have profound positive effects on customers' understanding of meaning, which influence their responses in the form of negative online ratings and low purchase intentions.Originality/valueThe study's findings contribute to the literature on hospitality, linguistics, and consumer behavior, and have managerial implications for online review websites, online travel agents, and hotel management. Research limitations lead to suggestions for future research for hospitality scholars.

A new method for evaluating tour online review based on grey 2-tuple linguistic

Kybernetes ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 601-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanmin Mi ◽  
Xiaofei Shan ◽  
Yuan Qiang ◽  
Yosa Stephanie ◽  
Ye Chen
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
New Method ◽  
Online Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – Tour social network data that are heterogeneous contain not only the quantitative structured evaluation data, but also the qualitative non-structured data. This is a big data scenario. How to evaluate tour online review and then recommend to potential tourists quickly and accurately are important parts of social responsibility of tour companies. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new method for evaluating tour online review based on grey 2-tuple linguistic. Design/methodology/approach – The phenomenon of “poor information” exists in some big data scenario. According to social responsibility, grey 2-tuple linguistic evaluation model for tour online review is proposed. Findings – Tour social networks contain data that are valuable to each individual on tourism industry's value chain. Grey 2-tuple linguistic evaluation model can be used for evaluating tour online reviews. This is a systems thinking method that takes social responsibility into account. Research limitations/implications – Due to the complex links among reviewers in social network, network mining approaches and models are expected to be added to this research in the near future. Practical implications – Grey 2-tuple linguistic evaluation method can contribute to the future research on evaluating a variety of tour social network comment data in the real world. Originality/value – A new evaluation method for making evaluation and recommendations based on tour social network comment information is proposed.

An empirical examination of online restaurant reviews on Yelp.com

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 817-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung-Byung Yang ◽  
Sunyoung Hlee ◽  
Jimin Lee ◽  
Chulmo Koo
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Coding Theory ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Harvesting Technique ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Presentation Formats ◽  
Restaurant Reviews

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of two types of presentation formats (textual and imagery) involving online restaurant reviews (ORRs). The study examines ORRs on the basis of review usefulness and review enjoyment; the study investigates the effects of the two presentation formats on review usefulness and review enjoyment. Design/methodology/approach Data from 1,776 reviews were collected from Yelp.com using a Web data-harvesting technique. Hypothesized relations in the model were tested by Tobit regression analysis. Findings Empirical results show that different formats of ORRs affect review usefulness and review enjoyment in different manners; whereas both attributes of textual format (review length and readability) affect review usefulness, both aspects of imagery format (physical environment images and food and beverage images) are positively related to review enjoyment. However, review length and food and beverage images are the most important factors affecting both review usefulness and review enjoyment. In particular, the relation between the two formats of ORRs and review usefulness is mediated by review enjoyment. Research limitations/implications The focus of this study is the two formats of ORRs in terms of dual coding theory and the mediating role of review enjoyment. The findings help online review website organizers manage the operation of various review formats in a proper manner. Managers can effectively select those formats that would achieve the desired effect. Originality/value Unlike previous studies on the relation of attributes to online reviews, this study examines the perceptions of ORRs’ usefulness and enjoyment. In addition, this study encompasses diverse ORR factors (review length, review readability, physical environment images, food and beverage images) for a more comprehensive interpretation of ORRs.

Simpler online ratings formats increase consumer trust

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alena Kostyk ◽  
James M. Leonhardt ◽  
Mihai Niculescu
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Consumer Involvement ◽  
Information Environment ◽  
Processing Fluency ◽  
Consumer Trust ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Ratings ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Online customer ratings are ubiquitous in e-commerce. However, in presenting these ratings to consumers, e-commerce websites utilize different formats. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of customer ratings formats on consumer trust and processing fluency. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the latest behavioral research, two empirical experimental studies test whether the format of online customer ratings affects consumer trust and processing fluency. Findings The studies offer converging evidence that a simpler ratings format (i.e. mean format) elicits higher processing fluency and, in turn, higher consumer trust than does a more complex ratings format (i.e. distribution format). Research limitations/implications Future research could include additional factors that might influence the ease of online ratings processing for consumers. Investigation of possible moderators, such as need for cognition, numeracy and consumer involvement, may also be of value. Practical implications These findings have timely practical implications for the design and presentation of customer ratings to enhance e-commerce outcomes. Originality/value This paper extends the effects of processing fluency on consumer trust to the increasingly important context of e-commerce. In doing so, it highlights important interactions between the evolving information environment and consumer judgment. The key takeaway for managers is that simpler online customer ratings formats help to enhance consumer trust.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document